Dirty Energy Sector Wages a State-by-State War on Solar and Wind Technology

[kristopher]

Think Locally, Pollute Globally: Dirty Energy Sector Wages a State-by-State War on Solar and Wind Technology

Submitted by meg on Fri, 04/02/2010 - 1:27pm.

* Analysis

BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
by Meg White

President Obama frames his decision to allow increased offshore drilling, new nuclear power plants and the pursuit of "clean" coal technology as a type of a stopgap measure to fill American demands for cheap energy while renewable sources of energy are developed. But is this a case of sleeping with the enemy?

The CEOs of big energy corporations, who rely on coal, gas and nuclear plants to create the bulk of their energy, nod alongside the administration. But on the local level, they appear willing to block these developing industries through a combination of lobbying and monopoly. Two recent stories illustrate how traditional energy companies are keeping wind and solar energy companies from gaining a local foothold.

So let's say you own a small business. You want to install a solar panel on your roof, but the start-up costs are enormous for such infrastructure, even with the tax incentives. In some other states, you can enter into a "power purchase agreement" with an solar energy company. The company basically installs the panel and maintains it, making its money by selling the energy to you and to traditional power companies. A wealthier entrepreneur might make back the money they invested in the panels by selling the excess energy back into the traditional system.

But if your business is in the state of Georgia, you're out of luck. A traditional energy company known as Georgia Power has nurtured a complex web to ensure a lack of viability in the state's solar marketplace.

According to James Marlow, vice chair of the Georgia Solar Energy Association, the state of Georgia has "about a dozen state policies preventing creation of solar energy." Among them...

http://blog.buzzflash.com/analysis/1015

[underpants]

1. Not suprising

at all


thanks

[joshcryer]

2. This sort of thing is more reason for a CO2 tax.

[kristopher]

3. A CO2 tax isn't the answer for this problem

If there are local rules and regulations in place to preclude the use of options to the existing generating infrastructure or that allow the owners of existing infrastructure to determine what gets built and what doesn't, a carbon tax will do nothing but raise prices for consumers.

I often talk about structural issues being the largest real impediment to deploying renewable energy; this is part of what I am referring to.